Hong Kong: National security law targets overseas activists

Hong Kong authorities are seeking to arrest six pro-democracy activists living abroad, including one US citizen. Experts say that China's security law for the city doesn't just pose a threat to locals.


Samuel Chu, a US citizen and the managing director of the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC) advocacy group, told DW he was surprised to learn that Hong Kong authorities wanted to arrest him.
Read more: Hong Kong security law: What are China's intentions?

Police have issued arrest warrants for six democracy activists living abroad, including five exiled Hong Kong activists and Chu. According to China's state broadcaster CCTV, they are wanted on suspicion of inciting secessionist sentiment and colluding with foreign countries.
"I have been living in the US for 30 years," Chu told DW. "This is definitely an aggressive approach… to go after a US citizen working in the US," Chu added.

Read more: Interview: Hong Kong’s police force behavior poses new challenges to press freedom

It's the first time Hong Kong authorities have targeted activists who are not based in the city.

Watch video Jimmy Lai: 'The resistance will go on' Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3h8Fx

Chu's organization has played an important role in several pro-democracy laws targeting Hong Kong that have been passed in the US in the recent months, including the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, the PROTECT Hong Kong Act and the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.

"I think we have been targeted because we are an extremely effective force in Washington, D.C.," Chu said.

Ray Wong is another activist wanted by Hong Kong authorities, and he believes the government is sending a message to all Hong Kongers living abroad.

"They don't want us to build contacts with politicians and lobby in foreign countries," Wong told DW. "I'm not afraid of this law [China's new security law — Editor's note] and the fact that the Hong Kong government has put me on the list of wanted individuals. The German government has already granted me asylum and I'm sure it will continue to protect me," he said.

Red more: Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai arrested under national security law

China 'extending its reach'

On August 1, a day after China's state-run CCTV reported about the planned arrests, Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam warned pro-democracy activists that if they violated the "one country" principle, their future could be bleak.

Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the move by Hong Kong police to issue arrest warrants for overseas activists, saying that China is attempting to extend its reach beyond its borders.

"The Chinese Communist Party cannot tolerate the free thinking of its own people, and increasingly is trying to extend its reach outside China's borders," Pompeo said. "The United States and other free nations will continue to protect our peoples from the long arm of Beijing's authoritarianism."

Read more: Pompeo seeks coalition against China's 'bullying'

Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the US, defended the move against the six activists, saying all measures are being taken according to the national security law. "If anybody violates the law, they'll be punished," Cui said. "It doesn't matter what kind of political views they might have."

Watch video Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3h8Fx

Crackdown on democratic rights in Hong Kong intensifies

Concerns over broad nature of the security law

Legal experts say Hong Kong's move to issue arrest warrants for the overseas individuals deals with the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the national security law.

"What makes the national security law unusual is that Hong Kong is purporting to apply, regulate and prosecute things that individuals do when they are not inside Hong Kong," Julian Ku, a law professor at Hofstra University in the US, told DW. "It's considered very unusual, or potentially a violation of international law, to prosecute non-citizens for things they are doing outside their territories."

Maggie Lewis, an expert in Chinese law at Seton Hall University, told DW that anyone, anywhere can now be subject to criminal prosecution under the national security law. "Since the law came into effect, there have been no efforts to assuage concerns about the broad nature of the law," she said.

According to Ku, there is no difference between an activist living overseas and a Hong Kong citizen under the national security law, adding that the Hong Kong government is damaging the city's international reputation in its efforts to enforce the law.

Even though foreign countries can't really change what's happening in Hong Kong, they should evaluate what changes they can make to ensure that they don't allow city authorities to violate human rights, said Lewis.

"I think reevaluating extradition agreements and mutual legal assistance agreements is important for foreign countries," Lewis said.

Read more: 'Five Eyes alliance' slams postponement of Hong Kong polls

Demonstrations held outside prison in Belarus where husband of opposition leader is held

Issued on: 18/08/2020

Opposition supporters holding white and red balloons and a former white-red-white flag of Belarus gather outside a pre-trial detention centre, where Sergei Tikhanovsky - opposition figure Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's jailed blogger husband - is allegedly held in custody, to congratulate him on his 42nd birthday in Minsk on August 18, 2020. © SERGEI GAPON / AFP

Text by:NEWS WIRES 
VIDEO AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE

Protesters rallied outside a prison in Minsk on Tuesday where the husband of Belarus's main opposition figure was being held, as she denounced a "rotting system" during a 10th day of demonstrations over a disputed election.

Several hundred people gathered outside the walls of the detention centre to mark the 42nd birthday of Sergei Tikhanovsky, a popular blogger who was imprisoned alongside other rivals of President Alexander Lukashenko ahead of the August 9 election.

The 65-year-old strongman is under pressure to step down after days of protests and strikes over his claim to have won a sixth term in the vote and a brutal police crackdown on post-election protests.

Lukashenko was jeered by workers at a state-run factory on Monday but has defied calls to hold a new election and on Tuesday handed out awards to 300 members of the security services, who have been accused of abusing arrested protesters.

At the detention centre where Tikhanovsky is being held, protesters holding red-and-white balloons in the colours of the opposition clapped and chanted "Happy Birthday".

Tikhanovsky's wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, was allowed to run in his place but fled to neighbouring Lithuania after claiming that Lukashenko had rigged the election to secure his official 80 percent of the vote.

Belarusian investigators have accused Tikhanovsky of inciting "social hostility" and calls to use violence against law enforcement officers.

In a video message, Tikhanovskaya said her husband was spending his birthday in prison accused of "a crime he did not commit".

"All of this blatant lawlessness and injustice shows how this rotting system works, in which one person controls everything, one person who has kept the country in fear for 26 years, one person who robbed Belarusians of their choice," she said.

Belarus saw its largest street demonstrations over the weekend since it gained independence from the Soviet Union, with more than 100,000 people taking to the streets of the capital to demand Lukashenko stand down after 26 years in power.

The police crackdown saw more than 6,700 people arrested, hundreds wounded and left two people dead.

Authorities have gradually released detainees -- many emerging with horrific accounts of beatings and torture.

European Union leaders have announced they will hold an emergency video summit on Belarus on Wednesday and both the United States and Britain this week voiced concerns over the elections and the crackdown.

Merkel seeks 'national dialogue'

During a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday said Belarus must stop dispersing peaceful protests with force, release detainees and negotiate with Lukashenko's critics.

Authorities must "enter into a national dialogue with the opposition and society to overcome the crisis," Merkel said, according to a spokesperson.

Russia and Belarus have very close ties and Lukashenko has reached out to Putin for assistance in the crisis.

The Kremlin has said it is ready to step in if necessary through the CSTO military alliance between six ex-Soviet states.

But it is unclear how much support Putin is willing to give to Lukashenko, who in recent years has often played off Moscow against the West.


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Tikhanovskaya, 37, has demanded the authorities release all detainees, remove security forces from the streets and open criminal cases against those who ordered the crackdown.

She has said she will organise new elections if Lukashenko steps down and the opposition has formed a Coordination Council to ensure a transfer of power, which is due to convene on Tuesday.

Tikhanovskaya's ally Maria Kolesnikova on Tuesday visited the National Academy Theatre in Minsk to show support for staff who resigned after director and former culture minister Pavel Latushko was forced from his post for publically calling for new elections and Lukashenko's resignation.

The Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper announced it was unable to print its Tuesday edition focusing on historic protests over the weekend and said it had secured another printer that would produce its print edition a day late.

(AFP)

AFP UPDATES
Belarus: Fractures form in diplomatic elite

Belarus' ambassador to Slovakia stepped down after siding with protesters calling for President Alexander Lukashenko's resignation. Germany said it would be willing to act as mediator. DW followed how events unfolded.



Germany has renewed calls for a "national dialogue" between Alexander Lukashenko and the opposition

Belarus' ambassador to Slovakia has stepped down after declaring his support for protesters

EU leaders are to hold an emergency summit on Belarus on Wednesday where they might consider wider sanctions

All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)18:55 We are wrapping up our live updates for today. See how Tuesday's events in Belarus unfolded below.

18:30 For the tenth evening in a row, thousands have gathered to protest in Minsk's Independence Square. Footage from independent broadcaster Tut.by shows people chanting "Get out! Get out!" in a message of rejection of Lukashenko's election win.

17:50 The United Nations Security Council has held a discussion on the situation in Belarus after it was convened by Estonia and the United States.

"Using preventative diplomacy at all levels is of utmost importance for avoiding the escalation into violent conflict," said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu in a statement given to the 15 members of the council.

The question of whether and how the UN would intervene in the situation remained open.

Read more: Is Belarus closer to the West, or to Russia?

17:30 After earlier carrying out military exercises on Belarus' western border, Alexander Lukashenko has now announced he ordered the army to be "combat ready" along the border.

"We don't only have internal problems; we also have external ones," he said, according to state-owned Belta news agency.

16:22 The EU should do everything to avert violence in Belarus — but also make clear it is not trying to expand its zone of influence, the head of Germany's parliament, Wolfgang Schäuble, told DW in an exclusive interview.

"Because, the way things are in Belarus right now — you can feel it — it cannot continue," he said.

16:05 People have been gathered outside the National Arts Museum in Minsk in protest of the election results for much of the day. Tuesday marks 10 days of continuous protests in the country. Cultural workers have been among those who have been loudly critical of Alexander Lukashenko since the election, which they say was rigged.

The signs read "Genocide?" and "It hurts me too"

15:45 Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde has confirmed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a 57-member alliance of which Belarus is a member, would be willing to help conduct dialogue between factions in Belarus.

Sweden is the incoming chair of the organization. Linde said on Twitter she had "offered a visit by the OSCE in order to establish a dialogue with the opposition" to her Belarusian counterpart.

15:10 Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with Alexander Lukashenko by phone, Belarusian state-owned news agency Belta reported. Putin told Lukashenko about earlier phone calls with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, where they urged Putin to foster "calm and dialogue" in Belarus.

Putin has warned against any foreign influences in the former Soviet state. This phone conversation marks the fourth in five days, after Putin offered Lukashenko Russian military aid over the weekend.

15:00 US President Donald Trump has said he would talk to Russia "at the appropriate time" regarding the situation in Belarus.

At a White House event, Trump described the protests as "peaceful" and added "I like seeing democracy. It doesn't seem like it's too much democracy in Belarus."

14:35 President Lukashenko has announced he has deployed military units to Belarus' western borders, the state-owned Belta news agency reported. The Defense Ministry said they performed flights along the western border to protect the country's airspace.

Additionally, the embattled president denounced the launch of an opposition coordination council, telling Belta that it would be met with strict measures.

"We see it unequivocally: It is an attempt to seize power," Lukashenko said.

The country's Interior Ministry also acknowledged that a "small part" of the nation's police force has quit since protests began and urged more not to follow suit.

14:05 German Chancellor Angel Merkel's foreign affairs spokesman has confirmed to DW that Germany could take up a role as mediator in the Belarus crisis if asked.

"It's obvious that the elections were manipulated," Jürgen Hardt told DW. "We have so many hints of the manipulation of the elections that new elections are necessary."

"I would appreciate if the European Union itself would take this role of a negotiator or a mediator between the conflict parties," he added. "But if others ask for German politicians to do that for the German chancellor, I think we should step into that role."

Historian Karl Schögel told DW Belarus was seeing an "amazing, European moment — that is not getting enough attention in Germany. He said the protests could see real regime change in Belarus.

Watch video  https://p.dw.com/p/3h7h1

Germany sees echoes of own past in Belarus

13:50 Lukashenko has awarded medals for "impeccable service" to law enforcement officials who worked to crack down on protesters over the last 10 days.

In an effort to clamp down on nationwide strikes, Lukashenko's government also issued a message to state-run factories telling them to ensure that workers fulfill their duties.

13:15 EU Council President Charles Michel has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in Belarus, hours after Putin warned Germany's Merkel against foreign interference in Belarus.

"Only peaceful and truly inclusive dialogue can resolve the crisis in Belarus," Michel wrote on Twitter.

13:10 Protesters have rallied at a prison in Minsk where the husband of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is being held, on the tenth day of consecutive protests.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the detention birthday and sang "Happy Birthday" to popular blogger Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who was turning 42.

His wife chose to run after her husband, who has spoken out against President Lukashenko's regime, chose to contest the presidential election after her husband was detained.

Tsikhanouskaya, currently in Lithuania, has denounced the "rotting system" in Belarus.


Protesters let off balloons to mark the birthday of imprisoned blogger Siarhei Tsikhanouski in Minsk

12:25 Lithuania's parliament has overwhelmingly voted for economic sanctions against President Lukashenko's regime in Belarus.

"Today, Lithuania's parliament unanimously passed a resolution refusing to recognize the results of the elections in Belarus and Lukashenko as a legitimate President, calling for free and democratic elections and to sanction those responsible for electoral forgery and inconceivable brutalities," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius wrote on Twitter.

The sanctions were supported in a vote of 120-0 with two abstentions. Further details of the sanctions were not immediately shared.

11:19 Belarus has seen major disruptions in internet service since the disputed presidential election, with rights groups accusing the government of censorship. To get around the restrictions, many are turning to privacy apps. Read more here.

11:02 Belarusian Ambassador to Slovakia Igor Leshchenya says he is stepping down after declaring his support for anti-Lukashenko demonstrators, according to independent news portal Tut.by. Four other diplomats have followed suit.

Leshchenya said resigning from his post was the "logical step" after he recorded a video message backing the protest movement over the weekend.

"I stand in solidarity with those who peacefully protested on the streets and in the cities of Belarus to make their voices heard," the ambassador said in the video.

Slovakian Prime Minister Igor Matovic has offered Leshchenya asylum in the event that he is not able to return to Belarusia.


BELARUS IN CRISIS
Allegations of vote fraud
Alexander Lukashenko declared a landslide victory in presidential polls on August 9. According to the official count, the 65-year-old won 80% of the votes while his main challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, got only 10%. Lukashenko's opponents accuse him of rigging the vote to secure a sixth term after 26 years in power.
MORE PHOTOS 12345678

10:30 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stressed that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko must move towards talks with the opposition "in order to overcome the crisis."

The chancellor made the comments in a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Merkel stressed that "the Belarusian government must put a stop to violence against peaceful protesters, release all political prisoners immediately and engage in a national dialogue with the opposition and society," her spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

Read more: EU emergency summit on Belarus: What's at stake?

In a statement, the Kremlin said Putin warned Merkel that foreign interference in the ex-Soviet state would be unacceptable and could escalate the situation.

Belarusians have been protesting for 10 consecutive days against the results of the August 9 presidential election. Lukashenko claimed a landslide win, but the opposition accuses him of rigging the vote to secure a sixth term in office. The international community has widely condemned the election process and the subsequent police crackdown on demonstrators. At least two people have died in the violence and thousands of others have been arrested.

Watch video  https://p.dw.com/p/3h7h1

Belarus: Protests, strikes turn up the heat on Lukashenko

Catch up on Monday's developments in Belarus here. 

ed,nm/aw (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)

https://p.dw.com/p/3h7h1

EU emergency summit on Belarus: What's at stake?As Belarus sees continued mass anti-government protests, EU leaders will hold an emergency meeting to discuss their response to the crisis, which could include sanctions. DW's Bernd Riegert reports from Brussels.

Belarus: Protests, strikes turn up the heat on Lukashenko

The European Union does not usually convene emergency summits to discuss foreign policy. But on Monday, European Council President Charles Michel called for an extraordinary Wednesday meeting by video conference amid ongoing mass protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his government.
"The people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader," Michel wrote on Twitter. "Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed."

His invitation came after pressure from Poland and the Czech Republic. The two member states had called for an emergency summit when EU foreign ministers discussed Belarus last week.

Read more: In Belarus, privacy apps help resist internet shutdown
'Do not resort to violence'

On Monday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French President Emmanuel Macron both criticized the Belarusian government's heavy-handed response to protests that began in the wake of a contested election on August 9 which saw Lukashenko win a sixth consecutive term. Steinmeier said that he admired the courage of those who had gone out onto the street to protest peacefully. "I appeal to President Lukashenko to follow the path of dialogue — not to resort to violence," he said in Berlin, adding the Belarusian army should not "sin against its own people through violence."


Watch video  Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3h6AC
Striking workers demand Belarus president's resignation

From his vacation on the Mediterranean coast, French President Macron tweeted that the EU had had to stand up for "hundreds of thousands of Belarusians protesting peacefully for the respect of their rights, liberty and sovereignty."
Disputed election

The EU has not recognized the official election results, which claim Lukashenko won 80% of the vote. Opposition candidates and protesters argue the election was rigged. Lukashenko's main rival Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania after the vote, has said that she is ready "to take responsibility and act as a national leader."

Some EU member states have called for new elections. German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) could play a role in reviewing the vote. Belarus is a member of the OSCE, which has sent election observers to the country since 2001, but the organization said Minsk did not invite any of its representatives to monitor the August 9 vote.

Read more: DW's Belarus correspondent released after 10-day arrest

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Lukashenko prepared to hold new elections? Analyst Konstantin Eggert speaks to DW Searching for consensus

Germany, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of European Union, is playing the role of mediator in the current crisis. Government spokesman Seibert said that Chancellor Angela Merkel had spoken with her European partners about the situation over the weekend.

However, the EU thus far has not explicitly called for Lukashenko to step down. Whether this happens on Wednesday will hinge on consensus being reached at the emergency summit. The Hungarian government, which maintains good relations with Lukashenko, could put a spanner in the works. Last week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called for better dialogue with Minsk. EU diplomats in Brussels said that they hoped that the summit would send a strong signal of solidarity to the opposition in Belarus.

Read more: Belarus: Arrested protesters talk of brutality
Diplomats draw up sanctions list

EU foreign ministers agreed to draw up sanctions proposals against Belarus after meeting on Friday. The list is expected to be presented at the end of next week but first it has to be determined who exactly is responsible for electoral fraud and for ordering violence against protesters and detainees. It is not yet clear whether Lukashenko himself will be on the list. "Of course we are looking at the option of expanding the sanctions to other leading figures," German government spokesman Seibert said.

Watch video Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3h6AC
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: 'I am ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader'

After the last Belarusian presidential election in 2016, the EU decided to lift most sanctions targeting Minsk, including asset freezes and travel bans against 170 individuals and three companies. A slight rapprochement took place between the EU and Belarus, just as ties seemed to be souring between Minsk and traditional close ally Moscow. Belarus participated in various European Neighborhood Policy programs, including Erasmus student exchanges and a dialogue on the rule of law. Despite its close military ties with Russia, Minsk even cooperated to a limited extent with NATO.

Read more: Opinion: For Belarus it's now or never

Avoiding a 'second Ukraine'

Now, however, Lukashenko accuses Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Ukraine of orchestrating the protests in Belarus.

"We have to avoid anything that might give Russian President Vladimir Putin an excuse to intervene in the conflict militarily," an EU diplomat who preferred not to be named said. "We do not need a second Ukraine."

On Monday, Belarus began military maneuvers on its western border. Lukashenko has accused NATO of building up troops in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia to threaten Belarus. NATO has rejected the accusation: "NATO does not pose a threat to Belarus and has no military buildup in the region," Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday. "We remain vigilant, strictly defensive, and ready to deter any aggression against NATO allies."

Watch video Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3h6AC
DW Belarus freelance journalist released from prison

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Belarus: Protests, strikes turn up the heat on Lukashenko 

Date 17.08.2020
Author Bernd Riegert

Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3h6AC

Exclusive: Lukashenko regime 'clearly' at an end in Belarus, says Schäuble

The EU should do everything to avert violence in Belarus — but also make clear it is not trying to expand its zone of influence, the head of Germany's parliament, Wolfgang Schäuble, told DW in an exclusive interview.

Watch video https://p.dw.com/p/3h7cE

'Find a way forward without further violence': Bundestag president

As Belarus faces mass protests following strongman Alexander Lukashenko's violent crackdown in the country, German Parliamentary Speaker Wolfgang Schäuble told DW on Tuesday that the European Union should ramp up pressure to ensure a non-violent solution.

"Because we can all sense that things can no longer continue as they are in Belarus now," Schäuble said.

Lukashenko has rejected protesters' calls to step down following the disputed presidential election that saw him claim victory. 

In Tuesday's interview, Schäuble, who is a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party, appeared certain that Lukashenko's reign was drawing to a close. 

"When a Dictator has come to the end of the road, it's best to find a way forward without further violence," he said. "Clearly a regime is coming to an end in Belarus as well."
EU 'responsibility'

Schäuble said the European bloc also has a "responsibility" towards its neighbors. With regards to Russia and the alliance between Moscow and Minsk, he warned that the EU was not looking to expand its influence.

"As I say, people would be wrong to think that we want to change spheres of influence," Schäuble told DW's Michaela Küfner.

"If we stand up for human rights, non-violence and democracy, that is not directed against anyone, and certainly not against Russia."

Lukashenko has been ruling Belarus since 1994. After seeking his sixth consecutive term in the August election, he arrested or forced key rivals into exile.

The wife of jailed blogger Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, became a wildcard when deciding to run again Lukashenko on the opposition's ticket. Belarus authorities claim Lukashenko achieved an overwhelming victory at the polls, held on August 9, but this has been disputed by the opposition — with protests escalating across the country following a violent crackdown.

On Monday, Lukashenko hinted there may be a new vote if a new constitution is passed.

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Belarus: Tsikhanouskaya calls on security forces to switch allegiance

Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya says Belarus should create a legal framework for a new fair election. She also called on security forces to switch sides from President Alexander Lukashenko. 

AUDIOS AND VIDEOS ON THE TOPIC
Lukashenko says he's open to holding new elections

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: 'I am ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader'

DW Belarus freelance journalist released from prison

Hot spot: Is Death Valley’s record temperature of 54.4C a sign of things to come?

Issued on: 18/08/2020 -

Death Valley, in California, USA, where a temperature of 54.4 degrees was recorded on Sunday, August 16, 2020. © Reuters / France 24

Text by:FRANCE 24Follow|

Video by:Sam BALL AT THE END

A temperature of 54.4 degrees Celsius (130 Fahrenheit) was recorded in California’s Death Valley on Sunday, the highest officially recorded air temperature on Earth for at least a century and, according to climate scientists, such extreme highs are set to become increasingly common.

The temperature, recorded at the small settlement of Furnace Creek, is the highest on record since 1913, when a high of 56.7 Celsius was recorded, also in Death Valley. However, some meteorologists have disputed the accuracy of that recording.

On Monday, tourists smiled as they posed for selfies by an outdoor thermometer in the town that at one point showed a reading of 55.5 Celsius.

But climate scientists have warned that the extreme heat is not only potentially deadly, but should serve as an alarm bell over the dangers of a warming planet.

"We would not be seeing these record temperatures or any of the unprecedented extreme weather events we've been seeing around the world in recent years if it were not for our warming of the planet due to fossil fuel burning and other activities that are increasing the concentration of these warming greenhouse gases,” Michael Mann director at the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, USA, told Reuters.

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The record temperature comes amid a severe heat wave in California and follows a pattern of increasingly extreme weather across the planet.


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Last month was the world's third-hottest July on record while three of the hottest ever Julys all occurred within the last five years, and scientists say these periods of intense heat and record temperatures are set to become increasingly common as global warming continues.

"What we'll see is these extreme highs, instead of occurring once every three years, start occurring every two years and then every year, and then maybe a couple or three times a year,” Chris Field, director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, told Reuters.

“We'll start seeing places that you never saw having a hundred degree plus temperatures start having a hundred degree plus temperatures. And we'll start seeing longer and longer periods of consecutive days of high temperatures.”

Such high temperatures are a significant risk to health, said Mann, in a warning to the hundreds of thousands of tourists who flock to Death Valley every year.

"Once you start getting heat or heat indices that are that high, the human body simply can't cool off fast enough,” he said. “The mechanisms by which we cool off don't work. So we can't be outside for extended periods of time. We can't be exerting ourselves, engaged in physical activity. It's dangerous or even deadly to do that."

AFP

PetroCaribe scandal: Haiti court accuses officials of mismanaging $2 bln in aid

Issued on: 18/08/2020 -

A man pushes an empty wheelbarrow as he walks along a street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 30, 2020. © Andres Martinez Casares, Reuters

Text by:NEWS WIRES

Haiti's High Court of Auditors released a report Monday slamming the fraudulent and often illegal management by various ministers and administrations of nearly $2 billion in aid from Venezuela between 2008 and 2016.


The more than 1,000-page-long report details projects undertaken without a needs assessment or even a cost estimate.

"The investment projects and contracts related to the PetroCaribe fund were not managed in accordance with the principles of efficiency and economy," the court concluded in the report.

Set up at the initiative of former president Hugo Chavez, the PetroCaribe program allows multiple Latin American and Caribbean countries to benefit from Venezuelan loans under a system of preferential oil delivery.

With no accountability to Venezuela, the six successive Haitian administrations since 2008 have spent $2 billion on projects, for the most part without concern for basic public funds management, the report said.

The High Court of Auditors also condemned a lack of cooperation from institutions, which it said hindered its investigative work in two initial reports, published in January and May 2019.

For instance, the judges were unable to trace a single contract to build an industrial park and 1,500 houses outside Port-au-Prince -- the most ambitious public urban development project since the 2010 earthquake. The project ended in 2014.

But the court said Monday that more than $46 million were paid to a single company, Constructora ROFI SA, for the unfinished project. The company belongs to Dominican senator Felix Bautista, who was sanctioned for corruption by the United States Treasury Department in June 2018.

Having been unable to consult the various contracts, the Court said it was unable to rule on the relevance of millions of dollars spent between 2012 and 2014 to strengthen the island nation's police force.
In their previous report on the PetroCaribe fund, the judges had condemned current Haitian president Jovenel Moise, who was accused of being at the heart of an embezzlement scheme before he took office.

Despite recommendations from the High Court of Auditors and popular protests organized since 2018, no prosecution has been brought against the dozens of former ministers and high-ranking officials involved in the PetroCaribe scandal.

(AFP)

A top former Saudi spy files suit, spills the beans at an awkward time for Trump
Issued on: 12/08/2020 AFP

File photo of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a meeting with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo in Jeddah, Sept. 18, 2019. © REUTERS - POOL 

NewText by:Leela JACINTO

A former senior Saudi intelligence officer in exile filed a lawsuit in a US court last week accusing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of plotting to kill him. The allegations, including using children as bargaining chips, have sparked calls for President Donald Trump, in the thick of a difficult campaign season, to intervene on moral grounds.

In September 2017, a former top Saudi intelligence officer living in exile was desperately trying to get his two children safely out of the Gulf kingdom. Picking up his iPhone, Saad Aljabri got on WhatsApp and contacted the most powerful man in his homeland, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The WhatsApp communication between Aljabri and MBS – as the Saudi crown prince is widely known – is detailed in a lawsuit filed last week in a US court.

While the allegations have not yet been verified in court, the lawsuit makes for a jaw-dropping and yet disconcertingly familiar read.

“Tell me what you want in person,” texted MBS, according to the lawsuit, which includes a screen shot of the exchange in Arabic with an English translation.


“I hope that you will consider what I have already sent you, because this issue regarding the children is very important to me,” replied Aljabri.

Two minutes later, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler once again urged the former intelligence official in exile to return home. “I definitely need you here,” said bin Salman.

Before Aljabri could reply, the crown prince added a terse, “24 hours!”

WhatsApp exchange in a lawsuit filed by Saad Aljabry at the US District Court for the District of Columbia © US District Cout for the District of Columbia, Case 1:20-cv-02146-TJK

A crown prince falls, a crackdown begins

Four months earlier, Aljabri, a close advisor to bin Salman’s arch rival, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, had fled Saudi Arabia for Turkey. He was still in Turkey in June 2017, when his ex-boss, bin Nayef – a longtime former Saudi interior minister – was stripped of his latest post as the kingdom’s crown prince and replaced by MBS.

File photo taken in September 2016 of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. REUTERS - Ahmed Jadallah

In his new position as crown prince, the brash, young MBS had begun a crackdown against his rivals and opponents in the kingdom. As a right-hand man of Saudi Arabia’s former interior minister, Aljabri was a key link between Saudi and Western intelligence services and privy to highly sensitive information on the kingdom’s rulers.

Bin Salman wanted him back in Saudi Arabia “where he could be killed”, the lawsuit alleges.

Days after the Whatsapp exchange with MBS granting him "24 hours", Aljabri left Turkey for Canada. But two of his eight children, Omar and Sarah, were trapped in Saudi Arabia and are still being used as “human bait” to lure their father home, according to the lawsuit.

The Saudi strategy failed to entice Aljabri back. Instead it caught the attention of US lawmakers who called on President Donald Trump to act.

US senators remind Trump of a ‘moral obligation’

Last month, four US senators on both sides of the aisle urged Trump to help secure the release of Omar, 21, and Sarah, 20, calling it a “moral obligation” to help the former Saudi intelligence official in exile.

In a letter to the White House, Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic senators, Patrick Leahy, Tim Kaine and Chris Van Hollen, described Aljabri as a “highly valued partner” of US intelligence and State Department agencies “who has been credited by former CIA officials for saving thousands of American lives by discovering and preventing terrorist plots”.

The Saudi royal family is holding Sarah and Omar Aljabri as hostages. Hostage taking is never justified. For a government to use such tactics is abhorrent. They should be released immediately. https://t.co/wqr22IEX1S pic.twitter.com/VdCpp0NZxV— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) July 9, 2020

The children’s fate also pushed their father, a 62-year-old former government official with nearly four decades of experience in the secretive world of national security and counterterrorism, to take the unusually public step of filing a civil lawsuit in a US court.

‘Tiger Squad’ on a campaign to kill

The lawsuit filed last week at US District Court for the District of Columbia alleges that bin Salman launched a state campaign to kill Aljabri that “has worked to achieve that objective over the past three years”.

Aljabri bases his claim on two US laws: the Torture Victim Protection Act, which bans extrajudicial killing; and the Alien Tort Statute, which allows victims – including non-US citizens or residents – of such illegal operations to sue in US courts.

The 170-page document details chilling but as yet unverified plots to target Aljabri. They include the arrival at a Canadian airport of a Saudi “Tiger Squad” hit team – similar to the one used to kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey – to target Aljabri.

The complaint also sheds light on the moves by global intelligence and law enforcement agencies to contain some of bin Salman’s human rights excesses on foreign soil. In October 2018, for instance, just weeks after Khashoggi’s brutal killing, vigilant Canadian authorities stopped and questioned Tiger Squad members who arrived separately at Ontario airport, the lawsuit claims. Most of the team were sent back home to Saudi Arabia.

Interpol snags ‘politically motivated’ warrant request

MBS, the lawsuit alleges, had warned Aljabri that he would use “legal measures as well as other measures that would be harmful to you”.

But the Saudi crown prince’s attempts to use "legal measures" were stymied at Interpol, the global law enforcement agency based in the French city of Lyon, the US court document reveals.

In a July 4, 2018 decision taken months before Khashoggi’s killing sparked an international furor, the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF) found Saudi Arabia’s arrest and extradition request for Aljabri was “politically motivated rather then strictly juridical”. While any person has the right to request Interpol data about them, the CCF decision on the Aljabri case was not publicly known before the lawsuit was filed last week.

‘In the business of assassinating people’

The Aljabri case once again casts a spotlight on Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations at home and against its citizens abroad.

“It’s a lawsuit containing accusations that are not yet proved, but these are serious accusations against the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, which is a very powerful country. If the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is in the business of assassinating people, it’s very important,” said Rami Khoury, a journalism professor at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, in an interview with FRANCE 24.

The crown prince's role in Khashoggi’s assassination has been a public relations nightmare for the oil-rich Gulf kingdom. While MBS has acknowledged that men working for him killed the Washington Post columnist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, he denies involvement in the murder.

His denials are widely disbelieved. In June 2019, an investigation into Khashoggi’s killing by UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur Agnès Callamard found “credible evidence, warranting further criminal investigation”, of the involvement of top Saudi officials, including bin Salman.

The latest Aljabri allegations – which names bin Salman and several Saudi officials implicated in Khashoggi’s murder, such as Saud “Mr. Hashtag” al-Qahtani, as defendants – are strikingly similar to the slain journalist’s case.

But the Khashoggi investigations so far have been impeded by political and diplomatic challenges.

As a UN special rapporteur, Callamard works as a volunteer, not UN staffer, and her office is independent of UN institutions. The fiery French human rights lawyer has publicly criticised UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for failing to act on her investigation findings to set up a panel of criminal experts.

Meanwhile the Trump administration has been stonewalling Congressional attempts to enforce accountability for Khashoggi’s murder while a Turkish trial on the case lacks international credibility, given the weaknesses of the Turkish justice system.

‘Lost in the world of the rule of law’

Aljabri’s extraordinary recourse in a US court of law opens the gates to a level of transparency that could, depending on the court proceedings, be damning for the crown prince, some experts believe.

“The accusations against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be adjudicated in a US court using the instruments of the rule of law,” said Khoury. “This is being put into the public light. If a crown prince or ruler of a country is convicted as a criminal, that’s very important.”

Khoury, like every Saudi expert, does not expect the crown prince to appear before a US court. Unlike criminal cases, civil suits pursue compensations, not prison sentences. On Friday, August 7, the US district court issued summons, or an official notice of a lawsuit given to defendants being sued. Saudi authorities have not responded so far to media organisations about the case.

It’s an unfamiliar terrain for Saudi authorities accustomed to petrodollar diplomacy, including the use of top lobby groups during crises. “The Saudis aren’t used to it, they’re totally lost in the world of the rule of law. They operate on personal relations and don’t know how to deal with this shift into the chambers of Congress and into the chambers of courts,” explained Khoury.

Kushner-Saudi way of doing business

The Saudi way of doing diplomatic business found a perfect partner in Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who developed a personal relationship with MBS.

“Trump and Kushner, both used to shady real estate deals, adapted quickly to Saudi Arabia’s system of patronage and clientelism: unwavering support from the Trump administration for the promise of weapons sales and other business deals,” noted Mohamad Bazzi, a New York University journalism professor, in a Guardian column.


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But the Saudis are keenly aware that in the US – unlike in their conservative country of glacial or paternalistic reforms – the winds of change can swerve abruptly.

The Aljabri case filing comes barely three months before the November US presidential election, with the Saudis bracing for a potential change in the White House. Historically, a confluence of oil and business interests makes a Republican US president a better fit for Saudi interests.

Joe Biden, the centrist, septuagenarian Democratic presidential candidate, is not expected to bring radical change if he wins the November 3 election. But unlike Trump, who protected MBS in the fallout of Khashoggi’s killing, Biden is unlikely to give the crown prince’s human rights violations a pass. “Joe Biden is more inclined to obey international law and follow public opinion and pressure from senators,” noted Khoury.

The pressure is expected to mount as Aljabri's unusual lawsuit winds its way through US court proceedings before and after the 2020 presidential election.

Tonnes of dead fish cleaned from French river after Nestlé spill: 'A spectacle of desolation'

From August 11 to 13, volunteers joined the Ardennes Fishing Federation to clear the carcasses of tonnes of fish found in the Aisne river (Photos: Fédération de pêche des Ardennes/Facebook).

FRANCE / ENVIRONMENT - 08/17/2020 AFP

Thousands of fish were found dead on the banks and in the Aisne river near Brécy-Brières in northeastern France on August 10. Local fishermen place the blame on waste runoff from a Nestlé factory in Challerange less than three kilometres away. Volunteers, firefighters and fishermen spent three days clearing the remains of the fish from the river.

Around 9pm on August 9, sludge from Nestlé’s plant in Challerange, which produces powdered milk used in the Nescafé Dolce Gusto line, began flowing into the river Aisne via a pipeline. Factory director Tony do Rio reported that upon learning of the spill, the factory ceased production around 11pm the same evening. Firefighters were called to stop the flow of the pipeline into the river.

The following day, the fishing federation of Ardennes, the department where the pollution occurred, began to report the appearance of dead fish on the banks of the Aisne. Recreational and professional activities were prohibited in the Aisne between Challerange and Vouziers during one week after the spill, and a dam was built to limit the spread of any pollution further along the Aisne and in other local waterways.

On August 12, the Ardennes Fishing Federation sounded a call for volunteers to help clean the dead fish from the river. 

'Heavy pollution on the Aisne, between Challerange and Olizy-Primat, yesterday evening,' the Ardennes Fishing Federation wrote in French in a Facebook post on August 10.
 

On August 12, the Ardennes Fishing Federation made a call for 'strong and motivated arms' to aid in the recuperation of fish

'The smell of rotting fish was difficult to bear'

Régis Piette, a resident of the area since 1991, helped with the cleanup effort. A certified fishing guide, he learned about the cleanup on social media.
I decided to help with the cleanup as a civic duty. A river has to be protected, as well as its species, for the good of all. The experience was traumatising and difficult to accept. There were about 20 of us, divided into teams. And there were many volunteers all along the banks of the river. I am very sad to see the Aisne touched in this way, and I am very angry this could still happen in our times. I have never seen pollution like this in the river.

During the cleanup, the water had returned to its normal colour, but when the pollution wave passed it was black. I noticed that some dead river branches were black during the cleaning up. The smell of rotting fish was strong and difficult to bear. The strong heat accelerated the decomposition process. The river was carpeted with fish. The slow-moving areas and the vegetation that held the fish were a spectacle of desolation.

After collecting over one tonne of fish on August 13, Piette and other volunteers had cleared most of the debris from the river. According to a statement from the Prefecture of Ardennes, more than two tonnes of fish were recuperated in the first two days of cleanup, with the total damage estimated at 3 to 5 tonnes. The majority of the carcasses were taken to a waste processing plant and safely disposed of.

In the third day of cleaning, volunteers collected one tonne of fish carcasses. In a post on Facebook, the Ardennes Fishing Association advised residents not to touch the fish that are still left on the banks, as they are in a state of decomposition.

In the third day of cleaning, volunteers collected one tonne of fish carcasses. In a post on Facebook, the Ardennes Fishing Association advised residents not to touch the fish that are still left on the banks, as they are in a state of decomposition.

Fishing grounds devastated

The Ardennes region is known for its unspoiled natural beauty and plenty of lakes and rivers to fish in. Both local fishermen and tourists who come to the area to fish will be affected by the major species loss in the Aisne.

Those, like Piette, who fish in the river Aisne will see their activities drastically changed:

It’s inevitable that this pollution will affect the future of fishing, recreational fishing as well as my job as a fishing guide. I'm going to have to relocate my fishing school trips to let this area recover.
Ardennes Fishing Federation President Michel Adam told AFP that all the fish in a 7 kilometre stretch of the Aisne have died. He said the affected fish include 14 species, some of which are protected such as eels and lamprey. Some estimate that it will take more 10 years for the Aisne fish population to recover to previous levels.

France 3 Grand Est reported that the 70 fishermen of the Challerange fishing company may not renew their membership in the group. Adam estimated that the damage to the river amounts to "several thousand euros”.

Nestlé confirms 'occasional and involuntary overflow without the presence of chemicals'
According to the Prefecture of Ardennes, the death of the fish occurred due to a decrease of oxygen in the water, but an investigation is ongoing by the French Bioversity Office and gendarmerie to determine if any chemical pollution played a part in the death of the fish.

Nestlé has said that its Challerange plant usually only discharges clean water into the Aisne, but confirmed to AFP that “occasional and involuntary overflow of biological sludge effluent, without the presence of chemicals” occurred in its wastewater treatment plant. According to the Ardennes Fishing Federation, some Nestlé employees aided in the cleanup.

The federation has lodged a complaint against Nestlé for violating article 432.2 of France’s environmental code, which prohibits any damage done to the natural ecosystem through discharging or disposing waste into bodies of water.

This article was written by Pariesa Young

French farmer launches initiative to send wheat to Lebanon

Left: A ton of wheat pledged by dairy farmer Régis Desrumaux. The bag is decorated to show French solidarity with Lebanon. Right: Vincent Guyot, a grain farmer in France, launched the initiative to collect wheat for Lebanon.

HUMANITARIAN AID / FRANCE - 08/18/2020 AFP

After the explosion in Beirut on August 4, a French farmer launched an initiative on social media to help collect wheat to feed people in Lebanon. The video has been viewed more than 60,000 times since it was published on August 10, and other farmers have pledged to join. However, despite the enthusiasm, the logistics of transporting wheat to Lebanon and storing it there present complications.

On August 10, Vincent Guyot, who cultivates grain in the Aisne region of France, shared a video on Twitter announcing his initiative. In the clip, he calls on Minister of Food and Agriculture Julien Denormandie, and Leá Salamé, a journalist at France Inter and France Televisions, to help the initiative.
I am ready to donate a ton of wheat for Lebanon. But I am a simple grain farmer in the north of Aisne, and I do not have the operational means to organise this chain of solidarity. Help me organize it so that we can do something concrete for this country.

Chère @LeaSalame
Cher Mr le Ministre @J_Denormandie
Aidez moi, aidez nous, à les aider concrètement, avec du 🌾 : #unetonnedeblépourleLiban .
Si vous aussi vous voulez donner #unetonnedeblépourleLiban : RT ,
Si vous voulez soutenir cette chaine de #solidarité #fraternité : 💚. pic.twitter.com/7vrADs9Tea GUYOT Vincent (@GuyotVincent02) August 10, 2020In this first video, posted on August 10, French farmer Vincent Guyot initiates his call for farmers in France to each donate a ton of wheat to the collection for Beirut.

“Sending a Tweet is fun and easy. But mounting a humanitarian operation is totally different.”

Updates to the project are shared with the hashtag #UneTonneDeBlePourLeLiban [A Ton of Wheat for Lebanon]. Guyot spoke to the FRANCE 24 Observers team about the initiative.
What I know is that I am a farmer and a wheat producer. This is more concrete for me than donating money. As of today, we’ve started communication, but the operational phase has not started. Next week, I hope. Sending a Tweet is fun and easy. But mounting a humanitarian operation is totally different. It takes longer.

Between 29 and 30 million tons of wheat have been harvested in France [this year], and the French domestic market only consumes 15 to 20 million tons. So it is not a problem for the French market.
Since the project is still in the initial planning phase, it is difficult to estimate how much wheat will be collected. A week after his first video, Guyot is still waiting on government support for his initiative. Transporting many tons of wheat from France to Lebanon is an over 4,000-kilometre journey. Guyot said he cannot launch the project on his own.

#unetonnedeblépourleliban
La suite ... et à suivre ...
Plus de 60 000 vues en une semaine ...

On va le faire ... https://t.co/6nLcNnOR4T pic.twitter.com/aYXaehzEIq GUYOT Vincent (@GuyotVincent02) August 17, 2020
This latest video, shared August 17, tags France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian and other top officials.

“I've received a lot of text messages from farmers in my region who want to participate.”
Régis Desrumaux is a dairy farmer in the Oise region. After seeing Guyot’s video, Desrusmaux pledged to donate a ton of his wheat to the initiative. He spoke to the FRANCE 24 Observers team about the project.

Partant pour la chaîne de solidarité de @GuyotVincent02 ! Et vous, les agris de l’Oise ? @smessaertluc @60thierry @adupuy60d @LePogamGuillaum @agritof60 #unetonnedeblépourleLiban @FDSEAOise @JeunesAgri60 @ChLambert_FNSEA @J_Denormandie @EmmanuelMacron @JeromeDespey pic.twitter.com/SS65dqTH21 Régis Desrumaux (@DesrumauxRegis) August 10, 2020
Régis Desrumaux is a dairy farmer in l’Oise. Desrumaux joined Guyot’s campaign and pledged to donate a ton of his own wheat to Lebanon.
Like many people, I was shocked when I saw what happened in Beirut. When I saw Vincent Guyot's call on social media, I said, we must participate. Our job is to feed people. It’s always easier to donate what we produce. A ton of wheat makes more sense than a euro.

Vincent Guyot has this great idea. And I've received a lot of text messages from farmers in my region who want to participate. We are really in this first phase [of collection]. We’re on the starting block.

L’artiste de la famille @corinnecheroux a apporté sa touche perso’. Bigbag prêt à partir pour le Liban. On attend simplement les moyens d’acheminement ! Tous derrière @GuyotVincent02 ! @EmmanuelMacron @J_Denormandie #unetonnedeblepourleLiban #toussolidaire pic.twitter.com/5yVjEVzgAV Régis Desrumaux (@DesrumauxRegis) August 15, 2020
Farmer Régis Desrumaux shared this photo on August 15. The caption reads, “Family artist @corinnecheroux brought his personal touch. This big bag is ready to go to Lebanon. We are simply waiting for a means of delivery.”

“Aid must also focus on rebuilding means for storing foodstuffs.”
Dr. Serge Zarka is a Lebanese agronomist who lives in France. He moved to France in 1991 with his family to flee the Lebanese Civil War. He retweeted Vincent Guyot’s post to draw attention to the project.

It’s an interesting initiative. Wheat is really the staple food in Lebanon. Flour and bread.

The conditions of transport do not worry me because this is France and we are used to transporting wheat. But you can’t just send wheat anyway, anywhere. Many of the silos in Beirut were destroyed in the blast.

One important note: we must provide different types of wheat. Some wheat is used to make bread, and other types are used for pastries. So we must ensure that the donations of wheat [from farmers] are diverse. We can’t just have wheat for making bread. There are other types of wheat that are important to the population.

To regain lasting autonomy, aid must also focus on rebuilding means for storing foodstuffs. And this is a top priority before sending large amounts of inventory. Storage could be done in the meantime in Cyprus.

As a Lebanese person, I am very happy about this initiative. I have a doctorate in agro-meteorology, and I studied in France. At my core, I am Franco-Lebanese. I came to France for my studies and because there was a civil war. Promoting this project is an excellent way for me to give back to Lebanon despite the distance.
Currently, French officials have not responded to the initiative, but Guyot continues to share updates on social media. He shares news of this operation under the hashtag #UneTonnedeBlePourLeLiban. You can follow the initiative and contact Vincent Guyot on Twitter at @GuyotVincent02.

Article by Sophie Stuber

AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s flawed justification for postal cuts

By HOPE YEN, PAUL WISEMAN and CALVIN WOODWARD

1 of 4
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, in Washington. Trump is en route to Minnesota and Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is misrepresenting the U.S. Postal Service’s financial problems as his postmaster general defends cuts that have slowed mail delivery in advance of the November election.

Speaking before the start of the Democratic National Convention, Trump raged anew about the perils of mail-in voting and argued that the post office needed an overhaul, blaming Amazon deliveries for its operating in the red. Package deliveries actually have been the bright spot for the post office, with double-digit increases in revenue.

Trump also gave his trade deal with China false credit for generating the purchases of U.S. goods that Beijing agreed to make. Chinese imports of U.S. products are actually running at less than half of what Trump negotiated, and it’s even worse for American farmers who sell to China.

POSTAL SERVICE

TRUMP: “One of the things the Post Office loses so much money on is the delivering packages for Amazon and these others. Every time they deliver a package, they probably lose three or four dollars. That’s not good.” -- remarks Monday to reporters.

THE FACTS: That’s false.
Full Coverage: AP Fact Check

While the U.S. Postal Service has lost money for 13 years, package delivery is not the reason.

Boosted by e-commerce, the Postal Service has enjoyed double-digit increases in revenue from delivering packages, but that hasn’t been enough to offset pension and health care costs as well as declines in first-class letters and marketing mail. Together, letters and marketing mail in recent years have comprised up to two-thirds of postal revenue.

In arguing that the Postal Service is losing money on delivering packages for Amazon, Trump appears to be citing some Wall Street analyses that argue the Postal Service’s formula for calculating its costs is outdated. A 2017 analysis by Citigroup did conclude that the service was charging below market rates as a whole on parcels. Still, federal regulators have reviewed the Amazon contract with the Postal Service each year and found it profitable.

To become financially stable, the Postal Service has urged Congress for years to give it relief from the mandate to prefund retiree health benefits. Legislation in 2006 required the Postal Service to fund 75 years’ worth of retiree health benefits, at an estimated cost of $5 billion per year, something that neither the government nor private companies are required to do.
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In the most recent quarter, for instance, package delivery rose 53% at the Postal Service as homebound people during the pandemic shifted online for their shopping. But the gain in deliveries was offset by the continued declines in first-class mail as well as costs for personal protective equipment and to replace workers who got sick during the pandemic.

The biggest factor was the prepayment of retiree health benefits, which Congress imposed and only Congress can take away.

As a quasi-government agency, the Postal Service also is required under law to provide mail delivery to millions of U.S. residences at affordable and uniform rates, an increasingly labor-intensive task given the nation’s growing population. It does not use taxpayer money for its operations and supports operations with the sales of stamps and other mail products.

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TRUMP: “We want to make sure that the Post Office runs properly and it hasn’t run properly for many years, for probably 50 years. It’s run very badly. So we want to make sure that the Post Office runs properly and doesn’t lose billions of dollars.” — remarks Monday to reporters.

THE FACTS: There’s no evidence of broad mismanagement at the Postal Service that dates back 50 years, nor did Trump offer any evidence.

The Postal Service started losing “billions,” as Trump put it, after the 2006 law mandating health prefunding took effect. Those billion-dollar payments, which coincided with the 2007-2008 Great Recession and a wider shift toward online bill payments, pushed the Postal Service into the red. Excluding those health payments, it has finished each year with revenue surpluses for most of the past decade.

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FLOYD PROTESTS

TRUMP, on unrest in Minnesota after George Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis police: “When I sent in the National Guard, that’s when it all stopped.” — speech in Mankato, Minnesota.

THE FACTS: No, Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, deployed the Minnesota National Guard, not Trump. The president didn’t send forces to the streets in Minnesota. He repeatedly claims that he did.

In the speech, Trump went on to say he urged Minnesota officials to deploy the Guard and “they should have done it a lot sooner,” thereby acknowledging, if indirectly, that the order wasn’t his. But Walz said he mobilized the Guard at the request of city officials, not because Trump wanted him to.

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TRADE

TRUMP, on China’s adherence to the trade deal his administration negotiated with Beijing: “They are living – they’re more than living ... up to it. ... Because they know I’m very angry at them.” — “Fox & Friends” interview Monday.

THE FACTS: That’s not true. China is falling well short of its commitments under the trade deal.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics, which has been tracking China’s purchases, found this month that U.S. exports of goods to China should have totaled $71.3 billion from January through June to be on track to reach this year’s target under the Phase 1 deal. Instead, they topped out at $33.1 billion, only 46% of what they should be.

The shortfall in promised Chinese purchases of U.S. farm products is even bigger. Those purchases totaled $6.5 billion, only 39% of purchases that should have reached $16.7 billion through June.

The gap is perhaps not surprising, given that world trade has been badly disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. But Trump did not negotiate provisions giving China leeway in any downturn. It’s conceivable, if unlikely, that Chinese purchases will pick it up in the second half of the year enough to make up for the shortfall.

But in no sense is China more than living up to the deal now.

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Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

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EDITOR’S NOTE — A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.

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Find AP Fact Checks at http://apnews.com/APFactCheck

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